I'm against the expansion as well but the whole reason for starting practice a week earlier is for player safety yet people are coming up with comical, off the wall ideas why it's so terrible without giving a thought to player safety.
No, the whole reason for starting practice a week earlier is because they are starting week 1 games a week earlier so as to accommodate their expanded playoffs. No expanded playoffs, no need to start earlier, right?
HS football coaches, at least at public schools, don't do it for the money. Any increase in stipends would likely need to be approved by the school board and I feel safe in saying that most school board members don't even have a clue that the football season is now starting a week earlier. Also, you're forgetting this was voted on and was passed, so in a sense the coaches did have a say.
If they don't do it for the money, why pay them at all? The answer is because it wouldn't be fair to ask them to do that much work without being given a stipend, even if it's a low one relative to the amount of work required. Something is better than nothing. If you agree that it wouldn't be fair to have them work for nothing, then how many more weeks to the season (keep in mind it's really two weeks they are adding for the majority of coaches-- one at the front end and one at the back) should the IHSA be able to add without raising the question of stipend fairness?
And, I can't let your public school coaches comment pass without adding one or two of my own. Keep in mind that, on average, public school coaches are getting a much higher salary to teach or be administrators than do private school coaches with similar school jobs (although there is nothing similar to drivers ed teachers in private schools). I would love to see what the average head football coaching stipend is at a public school vs a private school in this state. I would be stunned if the public school stipend was not more. Much more.
